Relatively long signal paths are a major bottleneck in digital transmission. For example, printed circuit boards often contain circuitry that is responsible for voltage level shif ting and electrostatic discharge protection on relatively long wiring paths. In addition, the circuitry often requires a relatively large amount of current to drive large resistive and capacitive loads that are presented by the relatively long wiring. Thus, the circuitry often uses large pad areas (and large passive components) and also uses a large portion of the overall power used. The large areas and components are often used to help the power consumed by the circuitry.